The Spirit of the Counter-Reformation

by H. Outram Evennett, John Bossy (Editor)

Outram Evennett was a university lecturer in history at Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity College. This book, based on his Birkbeck Lectures of 1951, represents some twenty years' work on the sources of the Counter-Reformation. Evennett did not live to complete his task, but he has provided a remarkable synthesis of the vast European literature on this subject. His method was to isolate the special and positive characteristics of the Counter-Reformation and to account for them in relation to the environment in which they developed. This approach is highly original; it sees in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation an attempt not to check but to extend and come to terms with the more individualistic and modern environment in which the Catholic Church found itself. The Jesuits are treated as agents of this change. Dr John Bossy has edited these lectures for publication and added a Postscript, analysing some of the problems raised in the years since the lectures were delivered. Professor David Knowles pays tribute to Evennett's memory in a Foreword.

Genres: History, Church History

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 70+ year old book is a fine place to start with understanding the Catholic Counter-Reformation as Rome sought to respond to the Protestant Reformation(s) that broke out across Europe. H. Outram Evennett addresses topics like the formation and mission of the Jesuits and attempt at papal reforms (including fierce disagreement over those who preferred a more conciliar model of church authority). At times Evennett may go too niche into detail but this is an exceptional work of scholarship based on decades of meticulous research.

[Skallagrimsen]

A collection of dense lectures you'd already have to be an expert on the Counter-Reformation to find even remotely interesting.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm conflicted on this. It was an interesting subject and there were moments where I definitely loved this. However it was a difficult read for me. Evennett's style was perhaps a little long winded, but since this is lectures turned into a book posthumously I can't say for sure. It was also VERY catholic, lots of vocab I had to look up, and deeply within the Catholic religion. There were chapters on the overall political structure of the church, and how that changed before and after the reformation, some power struggles and economics of Rome, Italy, and Europe; all that piqued my interest, but not enough. So I'm giving it 3 stars. It's a subject I would like to read more about, but from a more objective perspective, definitely outside the church.